All right David,

I think you are due the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkt...elated&search= .

I wanted clean this up a bit as our discussion was getting spread out
and I'd like to keep it coherent.

My main contention is that chemical fertilizers may be used for crops
but they don't do anything for the soil ecology and, at worst, will
damage the soil, if used exclusively in place of organic fertilizers, or
if they are used in too high a concentration. A concentration of which
we are ignorant. We don't know what it is. Whereas, organically fed
soil, will support the thousands of different bacteria, fungi,
protoplast, nematodes, and earthworms that form the base of the soil
biome. These in a symbiotic relationship with the plants nurture each
other from their own niches. When the crops grow, they provide nutrient
for the micro-organisma. When they die, they provide more nutrient. When
the bacteria and fungi form alliance with the plants, they provide
nutrients for the plants. When the micro-organism dies, it provides more
nutrient for the plants. A win-win situation. Working together, they
create an inter-active ecology in which ever larger species can exist.

Perhaps there is a role for chem ferts, but I would have to think that
it would be limited.

Now, what I was woefully ignorant of was soil composition (30%-50% sand,
30%-50% silt, 20%-30% clay, and 5%-10% organic material. If this is
homogenized in you garden, you will have excellent soil. I was unaware
of the importance of clay and humus in binding nutrients, thanks for the
heads-up.

You seem to be proud of what you've accomplished with your growing beds.
Could you tell me your approach and maybe clear up my confusion to your
use of the word colloidal? Sand, silt, and clay represent a gradation of
inorganic material. Since the inorganic fraction is the largest fraction
of the garden, it must represent the continuous phase, whereas the
organic must be the dispersed phase.
--
Billy
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)